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2016-11-23 12:41:40

ABT

Abbott

$38.73

0.63 (1.65%)

, STJ

St. Jude Medical

$79.67

0.77 (0.98%)

12:41

11/23/16

11/23

12:41

11/23/16

12:41

EU clears Abbott-St. Jude Medical merger, Dow Jones says

The EU has cleared the proposed merger of Abbott (ABT) and St. Jude Medical (STJ) after Abbott agreed to fully divest its Vado business as well as St. Jude's global vessel closure devices business, Dow Jones reports.

After Abbott reported slightly stronger than expected Q3 results, RBC Capital analyst Glenn Novarro predicts that the company's 2016 EPS will come in at $2.63, excluding its acquisition of Alere. The analyst thinks that Abbott's EPs can rise to $2.93 in 2018, excluding the Alere deal, driven by lower interest costs and higher synergies. He says that recent weakness in the stock has been caused by issues that are "either transient or can be offset." The analyst keeps a $48 price target and Outperform rating on the stock.

Leerink analyst Danielle Antalffy believes the selloff in Abbott's shares is overdone, as long-term fundamentals remain intact. With another "solid" quarter in hand, despite a weaker than expected Nutritionals performance, the analyst believes the company seems to remain "solidly" on track to deliver improving operational results in 2017, after a year in which it is reshaping the portfolio by acquiring higher-growth assets and shedding slower, lower-margin businesses. Antalffy reiterates a Market Perform rating on the stock but lowered her price target on the shares to $45 from $48.

10/11/16

COWN

10/11/16NO CHANGETarget $85COWNOutperform

Cowen says St. Jude advisory common for the industry

While Dear Doctor letters are never a positive, St. Jude Medical's (STJ) medical device advisory relating to a low rate of premature battery depletion in the high voltage portfolio is common in the Cardiac Rhythm Management industry, Cowen analyst Joshua Jennings tells investors in a research note. The analyst sees limited risk to St. Jude's franchise and still expects the takeover by Abbott Laboratories' (ABT) to close by the end of the year. Jennings keeps an Outperform rating on St. Jude shares with an $85 price target. The stock is down 1% to $80.19 in pre-market trading.

09/29/16

BARD

09/29/16NO CHANGEBARD

Dexcom, Insulet could be weighed down by competitive concerns, says Baird

Baird analyst Jeff Johnson said that while the FDA approvals announced yesterday for Abbott's (ABT) FreeStyle Libre Pro and Medtronic's (MDT) 670G were largely anticipated, he believes that both approvals came sooner than most expected, as did news that Abbott also recently filed for FDA approval of its consumer Libre system. The approvals could "change the narrative" in diabetes and could weigh on others in the sector in the near-term, most notably Dexcom (DXCM) and Insulet (PODD), Johnson tells investors. He keeps Neutral ratings on both and maintains an Overweight rating on Tandem Diabetes (TNDM), citing valuation for the difference.

STJSt. Jude Medical

$79.67

0.77 (0.98%)

09/19/16

JEFF

09/19/16NO CHANGETarget $48JEFFBuy

Abbott unit sale does not impact Alere transaction, says Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Jeffrey Holford believes Abbott's (ABT) sale of its Medical Optics business to Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) does not imply an increased probability that the Alere (ALR) deal will close. After speaking to Abbott management, Holford thinks the proceeds from the sale are more likely to be targeted towards the St. Jude Medical (STJ) acquisition. He believes that deal has a higher probability of closing than Alere. Holford has a Buy rating on Abbott with a $48 price target.

09/08/16

PIPR

09/08/16NO CHANGETarget $82PIPRNeutral

Piper sees little reason to believe St. Jude deal will not close

Piper Jaffray analyst Brooks West says cybersecurity expert Mark Lanterman during a conference call yesterday refuted security claims by MedSec and Muddy Waters against St. Jude Medical's (STJ) pacemakers, defibrillators and Merlin monitoring system. Lanterman stated that there is "not much meat on the bone" to the MedSec claims and the quality of the analysis, West tells investors in a research note. He notes that Abbott (ABT) yesterday at a competitor conference earlier stated the St. Jude acquisition was progressing toward a close before year-end. The analyst sees little reason to believe the transaction will not close in the planned timeframe. West reiterates a Neutral rating on St. Jude.

08/29/16

FBCO

08/29/16NO CHANGEFBCO

St. Jude Medical can fix security deficiencies, says Credit Suisse

After speaking with "a developer of software used in drugs/devices" about Muddy Waters' security concerns regarding St. Jude's CRM system, Credit Suisse analyst Matthew Keeler says the consultant believes that the security deficiencies,can be fixed. According to the consultant, the deficiencies can be fixed using a five to ten person team working for about three months, Keeler stated. Keeler does not think that St. Jude's pending acquisition by Abbott (ABT) will be impacted by Muddy Waters' report. He keeps an $81 price target and Neutral rating on St. Jude.

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Chesapeake Utilities (CPK) initiated with a Neutral at Ladenburg. 2. CONSOL (CNX) initiated with a Neutral at Goldman. 3. Johnson Controls (JCI) assumed with an Equal Weight at Barclays. 4. American Midstream Partners (AMID) initiated with a Buy at Janney Capital. 5. Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) coverage resumed with an Outperform at Wells Fargo. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) downgraded to Sell from Hold at Argus with analysts John Eade and Katelyn Bayone citing the company's third quarter miss and what they see as its "challenging sales outlook for the remainder of the year." 2. Duluth Holdings (DLTH) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel and to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. 3. DAVIDsTEA (DTEA) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at BMO Capital and to Market Perform from Outperform at William Blair. 4. Hilton (HLT) downgraded to Outperform from Buy at CLSA with analyst Jon Oh citing valuation. 5. Horizon Pharma (HZNP) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Mizuho. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Catch up on today's top five analyst upgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. AstraZeneca (AZN) upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Leerink with analyst Seamus Fernandez saying the recent weakness in shares provides an "excellent entry point" ahead of several critical pipeline events that have the potential "to transform this giant into an exciting growth story." 2. Autodesk (ADSK) upgraded to Buy from Hold at Canaccord with analyst Richard Davis citing expectations for improved free cash flow, as he sees a path to $6 in FCF by 2020 and $11 per share in 2022. 3. Eaton (ENT) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JPMorgan with analyst Ann Duignan saying optionality of the company's balance sheet should offset broad weakness across its end markets. 4. Fluor (FLR) upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Citi with analyst Andrew Kaplowitz saying the company is positioned to outperform given amid oil and gas capex stabilization, a lift off the bottom in mining off the bottom and "muted" 2017 expectations. 5. Sysco (SYY) upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.